*

*

Shiva’s skin glows blue.

He sits on a tiger skin

on a rock

on top of Mount Kailasa.

He is still and silent.

Complete.

The sound is OM.

He rests in his own delight.

His heart is the sacred center.

He is a perfect, pure lake of love.

He needs nothing.

Desires nothing.

*

Shakti comes like a warm breeze.

Her golden veil billows out behind her.

Her movement stirs the still water.

Circles of ripples intersect in spiral patterns.

*

Shiva does not move.

*

Shakti tickles the lake’s surface

with slender brown fingers.

Fish appear—

sunset orange, crystal white,

transparent fins waving.

Shakti strokes the sky,

pokes holes with her fingernail.

Bursts of light shine through

the indigo dome.

*

Shiva opens one eye, just a slit.

*

Shakti smiles a secret smile.

She hums a lyric tune.

She dances on the surface of the lake.

Where her feet touch, islands appear.

Verdant vines twine up blossoming trees.

Jasmine scents the gentle air.

*

Shiva’s nose twitches.  His nostrils widen.

*

Shakti twirls to her own music.

Her hair flies free.

Where it touches the sky, birds take flight—

crimson feathers, feathers of turquoise and lime green,

dipping, floating against the cobalt sky.

*

Shiva opens both eyes.